Sixteen US states sue federal government over ban on LNG permit

Sixteen U.S. states, including Texas, have filed a lawsuit to challenge the federal government's ban on approving applications to export liquefied natural gas, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Thursday.

The lawsuit argues the federal government lacks the authority to broadly deny those permits. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Lake Charles, Louisiana, by a coalition of states including Texas, Louisiana and Florida that claim the U.S. Department of Energy's pause will harm the U.S. economy and undermine efforts to supply foreign allies in Europe with steady supplies of LNG as the region seeks to wean itself off piped gas from Russia.

The administration of President Joe Biden said in January that the pause will allow officials to review its process for analyzing economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in high demand.